Fountain-pen.



J. BOARD.

FOUNTAIN PEN.

APPLwA'rIoN FILED ua. 4, 190B.

Patented Nov. 10, 1908.

W/ TNESSES i:

A TTOHNE YS' YUN 1TED STATES PATENT UFFICE.

FOUNTAIN-PEN.

Application filed March 4, 1908.

To all whom. it muy concern.:

lie itl known that l, .losnrll loano, a citizen of the llnited States, and a resident of (flu-ster. in the countyv of Orange and State f of New York, have invented a new and vlinproved ,lt`ountain-len, of which the following is a full, ele-ar, and exact description.

'lhisl invention relates to fountain pens, and the object of the invention is to provide improved means for feeding ink from the reservoir to the pen point.

More specifically, the purpose of the invention is to construct the parts at the pen point in such` a way that the feeding movement of the ink will be automatic, as it were, in its action; that is, when the pen is being used, the ink will feed to its point, and when it is not being used!` the flow of the ink will he .shut off. lu other words, the flexing movement of the pen point is utilized to stimulate the feeding action; but the construction is such as to enable the pen to be carried in the pocket even in an .inverted position without the inks leaking from the reservoir.

The invention consists in the construction and combination of parts to be more fully described hereinafter and particularly set forth in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specication, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the gures.

Figure l is a side elevation of a fountain pen embodying my invention, and showing the pen point viewed from the under side; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section taken through the pen at the forward end and through txlie forward portion of the reservoir; the remainder of the reservoir being shown in side elevation; Fig. 3 is a cross section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4. is a cross section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the pen point and feed plate; Fig. G is a perspective representing the feeder, pen point and plug removed from the thiinble which normally holds them; and Fig. 7 is a plan of theI blank from which the feed plate is formed.

Referring more particularly to the parts, 1 represents the reservoir of the peu, the forward end of which is provided with in ternal threads 2 so as to receive a thimble 3 which screws into position in the usual manner. This thimlole is provided with a bore Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 10, 1908.

Serial No. 419,091.

4 extending longitut'linally thereof from end to end, and this bore is of uniform diameter as shown.

ln the thimble I provide a feeder 5, which has the forni of a plug as shown in Fig. (i. The rear or inner portion of this feeder is of round form as shown; the forward and upper portion is cut away so as to present a flat longitudinally extending face (5 and a shoulder 7 extending at right angles to this face. On the under side the forward por tion of the plug or feeder is cnt away as indicated at 8, so that the plug presents a forwardly extending bill 9. (,)n the upper side of the plug there is formed a longitudinally extending feed duct or grooveI 10. The origin of this groove is at the rear end of the plug. ln this portion of the plug the groove has considerable depth, but it is quite shallow where it cuts through the face 6, and especially in the vicinity of the shoulder 7.

The pen point or pen 11 consists of a substantially flat plate, which is slightly flexed at its forward end where it is split and tapered so as to form two nibs 12 which lie adjacent to each other as shown. On the under side of the pen point 1l I provide a feed plate 13 which is of substantially the same shape as the pen point, but is slightly smaller in dimensions. This plate is not split at its forward end like the pen point 1l, but is tapered in the same manner, and near its point, is formed with laterally projecting integral clips 14. These clips are bent upwardly and clamped on the upper side of the pen point so as to attach the feed plate to the pen. It should he understood, however, that this attachment is not so rifrid as to prevent ink passing downwardly lietween the feed plate and the pen point at the nihs.

In Fig. 7 I illustrate the form of the blank from which the feed plate is formed.

In assembling the parts, the pen point with the feed plate on its under side, is laid upon the face 6, which face constitutes a .seat for the pen; and on the outer side of tl\e*pen I place a splint 15, the form of which is clearly shown in Fig. (5. The parts are then pushed into the thinible, as indicated in Fig. 2. Holding themselves in position by friction, as shown in Fig. 2, the rear edge of the feed plate 13 is disposed slightly forward of the rear end of the en point 11, and, furthermore, the rear en of the pen point 11 seats against the shoulder 7. Freni this arrangement a capillary openingr or feed space, as it were, is formed between the butt ends of the feed plate and the pen, which feed opening' communicates with the feed duct 1t). ln this way by capillary attraction the ink is drawn from the feed duct into the space under the pen point. This capillary movement is facilitated by the flexing of the pen which occurs in writing, for it will be evident that the flexing movement which takes place at the forward end of the pen point in writing will tend to produce a periodical or momentary separation of the pen point. from the feed plate. In this way a pumping or suction action arises which assists the capillary action and'tends to advance the ink to the pen point only while the pen is beinor actually used for writing. This action at flic pen point is highly advantageous, for the reason that the flexing referred to has its maximum eect on the downward strokes of the pen; that is, it will be seen that after the downward stroke, an increased supply of ink will have advanced toward the nibs of the pen point. This increased supply just at this time has the etfect of giving the pen point an unusually good supply of ink on its up-strokes. This advantage will be appreciated by users of fountain pens, as it appears to be an inherent weakness in pens of this class that the supply of ink is smaller on the tip-strokes of the pen point.

It will appear that. that portion of the feed duet which lies below the shoulder 7 does not materially assist the feeding of the ink to the pen, but operates principally as an air duct, for which purpose its forward extremity is provided with a vent 1G which opens upon the under side of the bill 9 as indicated.

When the pen is not in use, its forward end is covered by the usual removable cap, which is not illustrated,

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A fountain pen having a feeder consisting of a plug with a feed duct therein, a substantially flat pen point having a. substantially Hat feed plate attached thereto, and means for securing said pen point and said feed plate upon lsaid plugl to receive ink l'roni said duct..

2. fountain pen havingrV a substantially tlat pen point and a substantially tlaty feed plate held thereagainst, said pen point and feed plate being tlexible whereby the ink is led downwardly therebetween in the writing' movement of the pen.

Si. A fountain pen having` a feed plug, a substantially flat pen point, and a tlat feed plate held against said pen point, means for securing said pen point and said feed plate on said plug,l to receive ink therefrom, and means for attaching said feed plateand said point together near the forward end thereof.y said pen point and said feed plate beine, t'lexible whereby the ttexing increment thereof will advance the inl; in the feed space therebetween.

-l-. A pen point for a fountain pen, consisting of a substantially itat tlexible plate havingl nibs at the forward end thereof, and a tlat feed plate held against said pen point and attached thereto at the forward end thereof.

5. A pen point for a fountain pen, consist.- ing)` of a substantially l'lat plate having nibs` formed at the forward cnd thereof, and a tiat feed plate placed under said pen point and havingl clips engaging said nibs, said pen point and said feed plate heilig ttexible.

G. A fountain pen having a` reservoir, a thimble removably mounted in said reservoir, and a feed plugl received in said thimble and having a feed duct communicating with said reservoir, said plug presenting a substantially flat face constitutinfr a seat, and a flat pen point received on said seat.

7. A pen point consisting of a tiexible substantially flat plate, a feed-plug having;l a duct, a feed plate placed under said pen point and seating under said face, the rear ends of said pen point and said feed plate being exposed to said duct, and means for holding said pen point on said plug.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOSEPH BOARD.

Witnesses B. C. DURLAND, A. M. GoLDsMITH. 

